Every cloud has a silver lining and that was certainly the case for Albion in Mark McGhee's first home match in charge at rainswept Withdean.

The cloud was the extended struggle to see off plucky opponents from the lower reaches of the Third Division.

The lining was provided by silver goals saviour Chris McPhee, spearheading a proliferation of youth team products.

There were almost as many kids on the pitch for the Seagulls by the finish as in a crowd boosted by the distribution of tickets to schools.

Adam El-Abd, 19, made his debut in the centre of defence in place of captain Danny Cullip, who rested back and hamstring niggles.

Adam Hinshelwood was restored at rightback for Paul Watson and Daniel Marney joined McPhee up front midway through the second half.

It is easy to forget that Kerry Mayo, making his 60th successive appearance, has also come through the ranks.

McGhee is not afraid to play youngsters. He demonstrated that at Withdean last season when he was in charge of Millwall and introduced 16-year-old Moses Ashikodi.

McPhee was the star of the show. The 20-year-old from Eastbourne followed up a diligent display in McGhee's first game at Peterborough with another performance full of promise.

The silver goal rule is operating in the LDV Vans Trophy this season.

Put simply it means 15 minutes of extra-time or, if the teams are then still level at that stage, the conventional 30 minutes.

McPhee made sure that only an extra quarter of an hour was required.

He slotted Albion back in front via a post from Hinshelwood's pass three minutes into overtime.

A place in the southern section quarter-finals was rubber-stamped in the final minute when McPhee converted a penalty, awarded for a foul by Lee Beevers on Nathan Jones.

McPhee took the spot-kick because top scorer Leon Knight was not on the field by then.

Marney replaced him, as McGhee felt Knight was not getting enough protection from ref Paul Taylor and did not want to run the risk of his 13-goal marksman getting injured.

It gave McPhee an opportunity to increase his tally for the season to six, at the same time ending a run of six games without a goal.

McPhee's footballing education can only be enhanced by having a manager who was a high class centre forward for, amongst others, Aberdeen, Celtic and Newcastle.

"He (McGhee) has taken me to one side now and then to give me information to improve my game," revealed McPhee.

"We do small sessions after training on shooting, which is confidence building for me."

It hasn't done Richard Carpenter any harm either. The powerful midfielder, deputising as captain in the absence of Cullip, drove Albion ahead from the edge of the area midway through the first half with a shot which took a deflection off a Boston defender.

Carpenter's first goal at Withdean since the defeat by Stoke towards the start of last season will hopefully prompt a trend towards more regular scoring contributions from other areas of the team.

As McGhee pointed out, to be promoted Albion will probably need around 80 goals.

Knight and McPhee have shared 19 in 21 games in all competitions so far, but it will be tough for them to maintain such a healthy ratio.

What wouldn't go amiss at the moment either is a return to the mean form displayed from mid-September to mid-October, when the Seagulls kept six clean sheets in eight matches.

Having threatened to put the tie well beyond Boston, Albion lost their way in the second half and were punished with nine minutes left of normal time.

The visitors deserved their equaliser but it was one to forget for Ben Roberts, making his first appearance since September 13 following a recurrence of back trouble.

The keeper was dispossessed by Paul Ellender as he dallied close to his line and the ball broke for Peter Duffield to slot into an empty net.

It rounded off a mixed performance by Roberts, which has probably made McGhee's first big selection decision a bit more straightforward.

Michel Kuipers is likely to be back between the posts for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Lincoln, which is followed by the League visit of Danny Wilson's Bristol City on November 15.

McGhee said: "For me it's part of a learning curve between now and the Bristol City game. It's practising for the really serious stuff, which is the Bristol City game and the games beyond.

"In the first half we dominated the game but at times we over-passed.

"In the second half Boston deserved all the credit. They rallied and we looked as if we had lost a little bit of energy.

"We over-complicated at the back in particular by passing it and putting ourselves under pressure in difficult conditions.

"I am not here to play tippy- tappy football. We have to pass it in the right areas.

"We have got to involve our wingers as well and switch the play more often. Too often we were going down one side."

  • ALBION (4-4-2): Roberts (gk 5); Mayo (lb) 7, Pethick (cm) 6, Knight (f) 6, Hart (rm) 7, Carpenter (cm) 7, Butters (cd) 7, Jones (lm) 7, McPhee (f) 9, Hinshelwood (rb) 7, El-Abd (cd) 7.
  • Subs: Kuipers, Watson, Marney for Knight (withdrawn, 66), Piercy for Hart (withdrawn 91), Harding.
  • Scorers: Carpenter (23), McPhee (93) and (105) penalty.
  • Booking: Butters (88, foul).
  • BOSTON UNITED: (4-4-2): Bastock; Ellender, Greaves, Duffield, Weatherstone, Hocking, Redfearn, Thompson, Beevers, Clarke, Hogg.
  • Subs: Sutch for Greaves (withdrawn, 75), Chapman for Hogg (withdrawn, 46), Croudson, Douglas, Potter for Clarke (withdrawn, 60).
  • Scorer: Duffield (81).
  • Bookings: Chapman (47, foul), Beevers (71, foul).
  • Half-Time: Albion 1 Boston 0.
  • Attendance: 4,026.
  • Fan's View: Mike Ward (Brighton).

It was a hideous night for watching football and at times a pretty hideous display but for a lot of the crowd this would have been their first taste of an Albion performance and what matters is it ended in victory.

It was hardly as comfortable as the scoreline might imply but by the time the teams trudged through the puddles and back to their portakabins it felt as justice had more or less been done.

For Mark McGhee in his first match at Withdean there will be plenty of food for thought.

It is obvious the team needs strengthening but where the reinforcements will come from - and how they will be funded - remains to be seen.